Through strange fate and circumstance, this is the second film with Anna Kendrick in it that I've seen in short order, with the first being Get a Job. And I have a proclivity to check out the films of the co-star that Kendrick plays off of. I saw the trailer and thought it was cute, but wasn't completely sure how it would work. Thank goodness for fortuitous timing, right?

Max Landis (American Ultra) wrote the screenplay that Paco Cabezas (Rage) directed. Kendrick plays Martha, who is still reeling from the breakup with her boyfriend, who she found cheating on her. On a chance encounter at a drug store, she meets Francis (Sam Rockwell, Poltergeist). Francis seems like a nice enough guy, maybe a little bit odd, but as she starts seeing more of Francis, Martha comes to a revelation; Francis is a contract killer, who is trying to leave his former life, even if his old employers won't let him.

I like Rockwell's work quite a bit and looked a little forward to his performance in the film, though he seemed to be channeling his work as Billy in Seven Psychopaths. He has fun with Francis, though the character either doesn't adequately communicate why he wants to get out, nor is there a substantive connection to the viewer for Francis' motivations. Put another way, if it's for love, it's delivered by Martha more effectively than Francis, and Martha's communication is also muddled.

The latter is just as regrettable, because as a romantic lead onscreen, it's clear than Kendrick has some charm to her. And Martha is played like a drunken crazy person who finds her place in Francis' life, and it is something he is remarkably drawn to, however from that point, the story spends more time being enamored with the fact that Martha is dating Francis, who kills people for a living, rather than actual stuff that would have made Mr. Right a more engaging film than what we're exposed to. Less focus on the spectacle of Francis, and more focus on Francis would have helped the film a good deal.

There are some characters who benefit from the film reveling in the kitsch of contract killing. Tim Roth (Hardcore Henry) plays one of the bosses who is trying to kill Francis, while RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) plays Shotgun Steve, a guy who has some skills that Francis respects, and the two almost function as friendly peers. If they streamlined some of the film's antagonists and made it Steve, working on behalf of Hopper (Roth) to get Francis, it would have freed the film up to made some more and better inroads with the relationship between Francis and Martha, thus making for a better film. C'est la vie.

The last couple of films that Landis has written do have some good ideas, though they tend to get a little bit lost in the weeds. Sadly Mr. Right is another one of those films, where the film spends too much time looking at the periphery, and forgetting about the hook that got it made in the first place. It's not Kendrick's fault by any means, and it doesn't appear to be Rockwell's fault either. It seems to like with Landis and Cabezas, and is a bit of a shame.

The 2.40:1 widescreen presentation of Mr. Right on Blu-ray is given a AVC codec to show things off in high definition and has good image detail behind it, where it is the ‘pills' on a t-shirt or Rockwell's clown nose, or in woods and textures in an interior shot. The film doesn't get a lot to show off on the wider exteriors but colors are accurate and flesh tones are faithful without saturation or noise problems of note. Minor moments of haloing are present but not a distraction and the film looks fine as a whole.

DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless surround rules the day and sounds better than expected, with lots of subwoofer engagement in hand to hand fights and some battle moments. Gunfire is dynamic and clear and pans effectively and makes for a very good level of immersion for the listener. Dialogue sounds good throughout the film and for a romantic comedy film of sorts, has a nice sound stage to back things up. Kudos Universal.

"A Sweet Couple" (1:09) features Kendrick's attraction to the story. There is also a digital copy because it's 2016.

Like some other films lately, Mr. Right was a nice story in idea, but just not up to the execution of it, a frustrating and fatal decision for those involved. Sure, I liked Rockwell's performance, and Kendrick's was OK, but each seemed topical and didn't do too deep a dive into their respective raisons d'etre. Technically, the disc is fine though the throwaway extra being the only thing here was a disappointment. Worth checking out as a rental if you like either co-star.